One of the women is heard screaming at the man: ‘You’re going to have to get in line, there’s too many stalkers!’
Three popular Twitch streamers — Cinna (28), Valkyrae (33), and Emiru (27) — were forced to flee a stalker who threatened their lives during a live broadcast from the Santa Monica Pier in California on Sunday evening. The streamers, who boast millions of followers across various social media platforms, were in the midst of a week-long marathon stream when the alarming incident unfolded.
The situation escalated when a man, after innocently posing for a selfie with the group, became persistent and demanded one of the streamer’s phone numbers. When his request was denied, he began issuing death threats and pursued them along the pier, prompting the trio to cut their stream short and escape.
The Santa Monica Police are investigating a disturbing incident where three prominent Twitch streamers, Cinna, Valkyrae, and Emiru, were threatened and chased by a stalker during a live broadcast on the Santa Monica Pier. The chilling encounter was captured on one of the online stars’ livestreams, prompting an official police inquiry.
The incident began seemingly innocently when a man approached the streamers, suggesting, “Let’s take a picture.” The trio laughed and posed for the photo, with one of the streamers remarking how “sweet” the fan was. However, the situation quickly turned sinister. The man, who had changed his outfit at some point during the stream, then asked Emiru, whose real name is Emily Schunk, for her phone number.
A panicked Emiru tried to deflect, stating, “I don’t have a phone” and “I don’t know how to use a phone – I’m sorry!” Despite her clear rejection, the man, who identified himself as Russell, persisted, saying, “Wait, wait, wait – I’m just going to keep following her.” Cinna, real name Brittany Lynn Watts, a popular streamer with nearly 600,000 Twitch followers and a “best female streamer” award winner, interjected, yelling, “You’re going to have to get in line, there’s too many stalkers!”
As the situation escalated, the streamers frantically began running away. “Russell” was then heard yelling, “I’m going to kill you right now.” Valkyrae, whose real name is Rachell Marie Hofstetter, later confirmed they had reported the incident to the Santa Monica Police, who verified receiving reports of an individual issuing threats, according to the BBC.
The suspect reportedly fled the pier. Lt. Lewis Gilmour told Fox11 Los Angeles that investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and witness statements to get “the total picture” of the event.
Reflecting on the terrifying ordeal on X (formerly Twitter) the following day, Valkyrae revealed that the stalker “reached into his pockets multiple times,” which prompted her to run. She expressed a renewed commitment to personal safety, stating, “I’ll never be out without a taser/pepper gun ever again, I’ll never joke about being strong enough to handle being attacked again, and I’ll always take threats like this seriously.” Cinna also described the experience as “terrifying” and added, “We’re very much in shock […] that does not do it justice for how scary it was.”
This incident highlights the pervasive issue of stalking, with Department of Justice statistics from 2023 indicating that one in three women face stalking in their lifetimes. The Independent has reached out to the Santa Monica Police for further information.
